<p>I'm actually heard the opposite about Princeton - and, while applying this year, I found them to be the least receptive to home-schoolers, most reluctant to view portfolios and outside substantiation, and most dismissive of "unconventional applicants."
Princeton seems to be more receptive to a particular kind of home-schooler - those with substantial work in the mathematics and the sciences. Other home-schoolers I know, gifted mathematicians, were accepted to Princeton and prospered. Home-schoolers gifted in the humanities - perhaps because its more nebulous - don't seem to appeal to the admissions office,however.
If you want an Ivy, go with Yale. Home-schoolers I know agree that Yale is, by far, the most receptive - though I'm sure others could argue to the contrary.</p>
<p>Hi Zahra,</p>
<p>It's really interesting that you say that. I wonder, percentage wise, how many and what types of homeschoolers are accepted. By the way, where are you from? (My sister's name is Zahra)</p>
<p>My home schooled S applied to Princeton last year and was invited for classes and to stay overnight. Ultimately he was rejected.
He took a gap year and has re-applied to P and just got an "early write letter" from Williams. I have found through this process that the schools just ask that you don't over-send material. As far as the math wiz thing I would have to agree as I have searched Princeton online and they have a few articles on home schoolers who are excelling there. They are all gifted in quantative work.
As Princeton is probably the most selective school right now you will need quite a hook to get it.
I hope your essay set you apart. Let us know how you fared.</p>
<p>It's very difficult to find admission statistics regarding home-schoolers. They're rarely on-line; some colleges have them on file in the admissions office, and will tell you if you ask. Wellesley and Vassar did this for me, for example.
As I said, some home-schooled student have had success at Princeton. The adcom who interviewed me, however, was very blunt. She said something along these lines: "The fact that we rarely accept the ACT in lieu of the SAT, and that we are, in many cases, reluctant to review home-schooled applicants, is indicative of Princeton's desire to have a standardized admissions process and - in terms of academic ability - a homogenous freshman class."<br>
The admissions officer from Yale: "We like home-schooled applicants. They're exciting, and we're consistently stunned by their intellectual intensity. We treat them like any other applicant, except we pay more attention."
I'm not bashing Princeton - I really, really like the school. From what I've experienced and what I've heard, Yale just has a tendency to be more receptive. </p>
<p>My colleges were most receptive to a transcript, created by the applicant, that included distance learning courses, college courses, and independent work. For courses you did entirely on your own, you write a syllabus, a reading list, a course outline. Colleges don't care if it's after-the-fact; indeed, I created my "classes" from what were, really, 2 very big courses: the search for philosophical truth, and the desire to create things of great beauty. Although I reduced them down - to Women and Pre-Socratic Philosophy, The Origins of String Theory, Metaphorical Vampirism in European Literature, etc - admissions knows what I was really after. You can give yourself the equivalent of undergraduate education NOW. So why not do it?</p>
<p>I wouldn't get to hung up on Princeton. Rapaelye is not Harragon as everything is now decided by committee. Old dean Fred used to have final say. Their seems to be an eliteist attitude there that I don't feel comfortable with. Still having said that if my son were to be accepted it would be a tough decision.
Stanford on the other hand is friendlier to home schooled applicants.
<a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/applying/extras/1_2a4_homeschooled.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/applying/extras/1_2a4_homeschooled.html</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2000/novdec/articles/homeschooling.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2000/novdec/articles/homeschooling.html</a>
Brown has also. Here is an interesting article.
<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/03/21/schoolhouse_rocked/%5B/url%5D">http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/03/21/schoolhouse_rocked/</a></p>
<p>Well it seems that I keep switching my prospective colleges. I had first been greatly interested in Columbia because the views and ideas of its students seemed very fitting of me. Princeton came to mind when Columbia was ridiculously rude and basically said that the 5 required SAT2 tests they asked of home schooled applicants instead of the 3 they require of normal students was because "homeschoolers do not typically have the best education". Also, Princeton appears to have an excellent philosophy and foreign language depart. which is my area of interest. But all this pretension is really bothering me. I was not interested in Yale at all because of this arrogance, but perhaps I should reconsider seeing that they were the only college to respond to my emails and letters. I guess I will just ask you all to keep me posted on any new information you hear about.</p>
<p>Thanks,
E</p>
<p>When asking Columbia if only four SAT-2 tests would be OK they said that the five tests were only a guideline and not written in stone. If you send in a compelling app and are short one or two SAT-2 tests I doubt if it would matter unless you wanted to major in science or math and were missing quantative tests. Have you considered any of the LAC's?</p>
<p>I have contacts to a homeschooling cluster where some of the kids have gotten into the top schools, HPY included. Some have used distance learning programs, some were "nonschooled", some used an assortment of community college and other resources along with a highschool catalogue. The kids who were the most successfull, had several things going for them. As with any kids who are competitive in the most selective college process, those kids with a very special hook did well. For some of those kids, this was the compelling reason for homeschooling, so that they could spend more time on this passion. And if they excelled at such activities on a very high level, it would attract the attentions of top schools. </p>
<p>The standardized tests take on a more prominent spot on the resume for homeschoolers as well. Since there has to be some basis of comparing the applicant with the rest of the kids in the pool, the test scores have become the acid test. The SATs, and the SAT2s are the gold standard for this sort of measurement. Kids who have taken a number AP level test and excelled at them are also held in good stead. It just takes too much time to read through individual curriculums of homeschooler and try to assess how their "transcripts" are put together. A clever person can put together a great profile that bears no relation to the reality of the education, and how the heck are the adcoms to know how much of that education actually sank into the applicant brain. I don't see how taking the SATs are so burdensome. And Princeton is very upfront with everyone about the ACTs. They do not like them. I know many kids from the midwest who took the SATs just because they wanted to apply to Princeton. I don't know anyone who ever got into Princeton without submitting the SAT scores.</p>
<p>As to the number of SAT2s, I do not think it is unreasonable for homeschoolers to have to submit more as they do not have to submit to the rules of a standard transcript for 4 years. I do agree with the poster, that none of the rules are engraved in stone, and a truly stellar applicant, that true rare bird, could get into selective schools with exceptions in any and many areas of the requirements. But being an excellent student, someone who loves the academics is not enough to get you more than a foot in the door. You do need to provide colleges some substancial basis of comparision of your knowledge set with everyone else's.</p>
<p>the way I look at it, homeschoolers need some minimum number of "data points" that allow them to be comapred with other kids in the applicant pool. These might be AP scores, SAT II scores, grades in college classes, grades in distance learning programs. Things like letters from college profs or instructors at special summer programs also allow the applicant to be compared to other kids. There is no magic requirement here, you just need to have enough points in common with traditionally-schooled applicants that colleges can make some sense of your application. If Princeton says they want 5 SAT IIs from homeschoolers, that's just an example of something that would be helpful. If you only submit 3 SAT IIs, but you have 10 AP scores or 10 grades from your local community college, that is certainly going to serve the same function. They are not going to automatically dismiss a stellar homeschooler application just because it does not have have 5 SAT IIs.</p>
<p>I have a question. My daughter will be filling out applications this summer and fall. She has expressed an interest in applied mathematics and genetics engineering. She likes a lot of things in the science arena. Currently, she is taking an honors Linear Algebra course at one of the universities near us. How detailed do you have to be on the college application in terms of intended major? She knows that it will be in the math science arena but she can not pin it down further than that at this time. She is looking at CMU, Princeton, UChicago and possibly Harvard and MIT.</p>
<p>you don't have to be detailed at all. "Mathematics" is detailed enough.Most kids either don't know, or change their mind if they think they know.</p>
<p>I agree with texas137, that you generally don't have to be detailed about the major. However, you might consider this a chance to show that you are well informed about the school, by expressing interest in whatever unique programs they might have in your daughter's areas of interest. </p>
<p>Another time it would be important to be specific is if the school has special programs with limited enrollment. My daughter needed to apply specifically for her primary major (not science or math), but not for her second major (science), which will very likely change.</p>
<p>It would also make sense to look at what the schools offer in the line of honors or other special science and math programs, in case there's something she'd want to be involved in from the start.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. I am checking the websites to see that special programs they have that are of interest to my daughter.</p>
<p>good point, nan, about special programs. If you can tell a college that you want to do some specific thing that is unique to them, I think that's always good. But putting "applied mathematics and genetics engineering" on every app as the intended major is more specific than you need to be, and could actually hurt you if the school does not offer those as undergrad majors. (totally aside form the issue of kids changing their minds).</p>
<p>hsmom ~ a word of caution about CMU. Your D should look carefully if she applies to CMU and make sure that she applies to the correct college within CMU to meet her needs. It can be difficult to switch between majors at CMU if some advance planning is not done. I think she might be fine there (we love the school), but it will pay to look carefully.</p>
<p>Thanks reasonabledad, I have heard that about CMU. We will have to sit down and look at their colleges and majors within each one so that we are certain that she applies to the correct one.</p>